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The second project video is available!

Check out the second project video:

    • The second webinar of the DIF-Jacket project

    Webinar organization (2022/04/01, Online)

  • “From idea to reality” it was the name of the second webinar of the project, held by the consortium CEFT, CeNTI, CITEVE, and ENB. On April 1, 2022, the event was moderated by Eng. José Lopes (ENB) and it accounted with the participation of 3 speakers from each institution. The researchers Dr. Soraia Neves (CEFT), Eng. João Ribeiro (CeNTI) and Eng. Gilda Santos (CITEVE) held a brief presentation of the project outcomes and the main challenges faced during the development of individual protection equipment. At the end, a moment of questions and answers occurred.

    The webinar programme and record link can be found below.


    "2º webinar: da ideia à realidade - fatores que afetam o desempenho do EPI" 2022/04/01(2022). Webinar record [in Portuguese].

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    • The first webinar of the DIF-Jacket project

    Webinar organization (2021/11/25, Online)

  • The consortium CEFT, CeNTI, CITEVE, and ENB organized the first webinar of the project DIF-Jacekt (a series of 3). On November 25, 2021, the event was moderated by Eng. José Lopes (ENB) and it accounted with the participation of 4 speakers from each institution. The researchers Dr. Soraia Neves (CEFT), Eng. Francisca Marques (CeNTI) and Eng. Gilda Santos (CITEVE) held a brief presentation of the project and the methodologies used to overtake the main challenges of the project. Dr. Nelson Antunes (ENB) talked about the relevance of the development and improvement of firefighter protective suits over the last years. At the end of the webinar, Eng. Gilda Santos (CITEVE) presented the main issues about the proper care and maintaince of firefighters gears. The webinar had 270 registrations, from a total of 166 firefighters corporations - Portuguese and international ones.

    The webinar programme and record link can be found below.


    "1º webinar: Apresentação do projeto DIF-Jacket" 2021/11/25(2021). Webinar record [in Portuguese].

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    • The impact of water on firefighter protective clothing thermal performance and steam burn occurrence in firefighters

    Scientific article

  • Exposure to oscillating heat fluxes while having variable water contents in the thermal protective clothing (T.P.C) is possible in a real firefighting scenario. The occurrence of steam burns becomes inevitable in certain conditions which are still unidentified in the literature. In light of such, in this study, the effect of water distribution on thermal protective clothing (T.P.C) performance is studied for various environmental conditions (i.e., fixed and transient values of heat flux).

    A numerical approach is used to simulate heat and mass transport in the T.P.C.. Parametric studies are performed, where the exposure heat flux (0 - 80 kW/m2)and initial quantities of water in the T.P.C. are varied and correlated with second–degree burn times. The presence of water in the outer shell increases second-degree burn times, while water in the inner layer has the opposite effect for high heat fluxes. For the tested heat fluxes, burns obtained are majorly of a scald nature. The results generated allow for identifying environmental and protective clothing conditions where steam burns may become a potential hazard.

    The article reference and the pre-proofs link can be found below.


    A. F. Malaquias; S.F. Neves; J.B.L.M. Campos. "The Impact of Water on Firefighter Protective Clothing Thermal Performance and Steam Burn Occurrence in Firefighters". Fire Safety Journal (2022), 127, 103506: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103506.

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    • Take your PhD with us!

    Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships Programme - Incoming. Call for applications 2022

  • If you have a background in science or engineering, with interest in transport phenomena and product performance optimization see our predoctoral fellowship position:

    Study of heat and mass transfer through firefighting protective clothing: development of an innovative firefighter jacket ( link )

    Apply to Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships Programme - Incoming. Call for applications 2022 ( link ) and select our predoctoral position.

    Looking forward to hearing from you!

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    • Participation on the iTechStyle summit ‘22 – International Conference on Textiles & Clothing

    International conference participation (2022/05/25-27, Matosinhos, Portugal, 2022)

  • Under the scope of DIF-Jacket project, João Ribeiro from CeNTI participated on the international conference: iTechStyle summit ‘22 – International Conference on Textiles & Clothing with the poster: “DIF-Jacket – Development of an innovative firefighter jacket”. [Text re-edited on 07/06/2022]

    The abstract document can be found below.


    F. Marques, J. Ribeiro, R. Pereira, M. Silva, G. Santos, L. Valente, A. Fonseca, J. M. Miranda, J. B. L. M. Campos, S.F. Neves, "DIF-Jacket – Development of an innovative firefighter jacket" on iTechStyle summit '22 - International Conference on Textiles & Clothing. Hosted by CITEVE, Matosinhos, Portugal (2022).

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    • Participation on the 8th European Thermal Sciences Conference - EUROTHERM

    International conference participation (2021/09/20-23, Portugal)

  • Under the scope of DIF-Jacket project, on September 20, 2021, André Fonseca from CEFT, participated on the international conference: 8th European Thermal Sciences Conference - EUROTHERM (online conference) with the oral presentation: “Thermal Performance Deterrence Caused By PCM Inclusion In Firefighting Garments: The Other Side Of The Story”.

    The abstract document can be found below.


    A. Fonseca, S.F. Neves, J.B.L.M. Campos, "Thermal Performance Deterrence Caused By PCM Inclusion In Firefighting Garments: The Other Side Of The Story" on the 8th European Thermal Sciences Conference - EUROTHERM. Online-Conference, Organized under the auspices of the EUROTHERM Committee, Portugal (2021).

    • Participation on the 9th ECPC - European Conference on Protective Clothing

    International conference participation (2021/05/10-12, Germany)

  • Under the scope of DIF-Jacket project, on May 12, 2021, André Fonseca from CEFT, participated on the international conference: 9th ECPC - European Conference on Protective Clothing (online conference) with the oral presentation: “Making high temperature phase change materials functionable in FPCs”.

    The abstract document can be found below.


    A. Fonseca, S.F. Neves, J.B.L.M. Campos, "Making high temperature phase change materials functionable in FPCs" on the 9th ECPC - European Conference on Protective Clothing. Online-Conference, Hosted by Hohenstein, Germany (2021).

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    • Participation on the 2nd Workshop – Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects on Forest Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting

    Workshop participation (2021/05/07, Portugal)

  • On May 7, 2021, Soraia Ferreira Neves from CEFT, presented the outcomes of the first year of project DIF-Jacket, on the 2nd Workshop – Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects on Forest Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (online).

    The abstract document and the presentation link can be found below.


    S. F. Neves, A. Fonseca, J. M. Miranda, F. Marques, J. Ribeiro, R. Marques, G. Santos, J. B. L. M. Campos "The first year of the project DIF-Jacket - Development of an innovative firefighter jacket" 2nd Workshop – Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects on Forest Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting. Online workshop, Hosted by ADAI, Portugal (2021). Video of the presentation (at 2h24min) [in Portuguese]

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    • The first project video is available!

    Check out the first project video:

    • National School of Firefighters has joined the project!

  • We are glad to announce that the National School of Portuguese Firefighters (ENB) has joined the project. The partner is supporting the design of realistic fire scenarios (e.g. considering appropriate local ambient conditions and re-tasking of firefighter crews) that will be included in the virtual simulator to study the performance of the new firefighter jacket. Also, the ENB gave access to the school trials and the first workshop of the project will be presented in ENB schools ([In Portuguese] https://www.enb.pt/publicacao.php?id=461 ).

    • Take your PhD with us!

    Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships Programme - Incoming. Call for applications 2021

  • If you have a background in science or engineering, with interest in transport phenomena and product performance optimization see our predoctoral fellowship position:

    Study of heat and mass transfer through firefighting protective clothing: development of an innovative firefighter jacket ( link )

    Apply to Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships Programme - Incoming. Call for applications 2021 ( link ) and select our predoctoral position.

    Looking forward to hearing from you!

  • Download proposal

    • The project first scientific article was published!

    Scientific article

  • In this work, the thermal performance of a new firefighting jacket was tested during changing environment conditions, in order to approximate to conditions usually found in firefighting scenarios: direct fire exposure, followed by a post fire exposure and resting phases. The jacket new functionality consisted in the incorporation of materials known to accumulate large amounts of energy due to their phase change called Phase Change Materials (PCMs). The incorporation of PCMs in firefighting garments has been shown to minimize the potential of heat hazards only during fire exposure. However, the jacket must be able to provide protection throughout all these phases, as burnouts may still occur after fire exposure due to accumulation of heat in the garment. Thus to get more knowledge on their thermal performance, in this work, the effect of PCM incorporation in post fire and resting phases were also numerically studied.

    A small-scale numerical model was developed and five potential PCM candidates were tested. Optimal PCM masses, times to second and third – degree burns as well as PCM suit cooling times were calculated to reflect thermal protective performance in each respective phase. The data generated allows for PCM short-listing from a set of potential PCM candidates along with its geometrical parameters, considering a wide range of characteristics of the various phases that consist a typical firefighting scenario.

    The article reference and the pre-proofs link can be found below.


    A. Fonseca; S.F. Neves; J.B.L.M. Campos. "Thermal performance of a PCM firefighting suit considering transient periods of fire exposure, post – fire exposure and resting phases". Applied Thermal Engineering (2020): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115769.

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    • Participation on the Rural Fires Seminar: Better Management Based on Scientific Evidence

    Seminar participation (2019/11/27, Algés, Portugal)

  • On November 27, 2019, Soraia Ferreira Neves from CEFT, presented the project DIF-Jacket: Development of an innovative firefighter's jacket, on the Rural Fires Seminar: Better Management Based on Scientific Evidence. This seminar took place in Algés, Portugal, and it was carried out within the scope of the Forest Fires Prevention and Fighting, financed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) according to the calls for IC&DT projects carried out in the years 2017 and 2018.

    The slides of the project and the presentation link can be found below.


    S.F. Neves; J.B.L.M. Campos, "DIF-JACKET: Development of an innovative firefighter's jacket" on the Rural Fires Seminar: Better Management Based on Scientific Evidence, organized by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in Algés, Portugal (2019). Video of the presentation (at 1h09min) [in portuguese]

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